What if we could improve stroke outcomes for women with simple non-invasive therapies?

This project aims to develop nano-drug delivery (NANO-3D) devices that non-invasively regulate the brain’s lymphatic system to treat ischemic stroke. The project also expects to generate new knowledge about the variability in brain-draining lymphatic vasculature with sex and age which will inform the pathology of stroke and other neurological diseases. This will provide substantial benefit to the ¼ women who experience ischemic stroke. The current treatment for ischemic stroke consists of “clot-busting” drugs or invasive clot retrieval. These approaches are only effective if performed within a few hours after stroke, have significant bleeding risk, and are resource intensive. Our NANO-3D devices promote pumping of the cervical lymphatic vessels in the neck to enhance the removal of fluid and toxic waste products from the brain. This addresses the need for simple, cost-effective, non-invasive, and safe mechanism to enhance waste removal from the brain to treat ischemic stroke.

Topic 4: Women's Brain Health